A Dragons Journey
by adellamuriel
Summary: Not liking the increase in taxes, the fire nation nobility revolt against the royal family. With Ozai dead, Zuko and Azula must find a way back to each other before the wars internally and externally tear their nation apart.
1. Chapter 1

She longed for the Fire Nation.

They had been travelling by sea for a year now, hiding at ports where no one would recognise them. Her crown had been taken from her and hidden away for her own safety.

She missed home. She missed her Father and her friends, and even Zuko. Her only companions were the men loyal to the throne. They were taking Azula to safety, where Azula did not have to hide her fire bending or wear cloaks to disguise her royal identity.

It had been a long time since Azula had been home, where she was respected as the Princess of the Fire Nation, granddaughter to Azulon and daughter to Ozai. Azula who is ten knew Ozai had been regarded by many, but not loved. No, they loved Iroh.

The people of the Fire Nation rebelled against the Fire Lord Ozai and his family. They had all been separated, and Azula did not know where her remaining family were. Ozai had been killed, and she did not know where her brother was, he had been banished the year before and was with her Uncle, but she suspected they was dead.

Commander Zhao had found her, lying next to the corpses of her servant. He quickly took her and a few men and sailed to somewhere safe – where the rebellion would not find her. He explained that her Father the Fire Lord was dead.

Zuko was weak, he had always been weak, but he did not deserve death. Once she was old enough, Azula would avenge her family's death in an Agni Kai with the Usurper – General Xao and make him pay for what he has done to her family.

Azula was not stupid, she understood that in order to win, she would have to train.

Which, Azula has not been doing.

Commander Zhao said it was for her protection, which Azula understood, but it was hard. From bending every day to infrequent sessions with her guard was frustrating. She would not get strong by lazing around and doing nothing. She would not be able to avenge her family.

Her bending was not at the level that she wanted it to be at this stage. To defeat the rebellion, she theorised that she would have to train at least twice a day to overcome the Usurper – General Xao.

He was famous for his finessed in the battle field, with every battle he lost the Usurper won more.

Commander Zhao has not told her the current Fire Lord's name. He kept a lot of secrets from her.

Azula could not fault the commander for trying not to upset her in telling her information of her home, but she needed to know what was happening, to find out who were her allies and who she needed to get rid off. She had voiced her grievances to him about keeping secrets from her – the last child of Agni.

He did not get upset, but he had stared at her for a time. It made her uncomfortable. Commander Zhao could see she was embarrassed, and his lips twitched.

He was amused.

She had tried to hold his gaze, but she was only ten, and he was a man her senior. She could not compete for long.

Azula soon turned her gaze away, ashamed that she had not upheld her father's teachings and left the room hastily.

Remembering the incident made Azula shiver. It was unbecoming of her, the Princess to the Fire Nation. The last child of Sozin.

She should not be afraid of a low-ranking officer.

Contemplating her situation, she turned to the sea. She needed to work with Zhao, and then when older, she would take control. Zhao would be in control.

_For now._

Fire is the superior bending form, the structure of firebending allowed them to combat and reign superior over the other elements.

She had been taught this by her Father.

Commander Zhao reinforced the lesson in her teachings; though she's not allowed to bend in her lessons, the teaching went on as normal, taught by the crew.

He did not teach her himself, Azula knew that Commander Zhao was busy plotting course around the world: making sure she was protected. Whenever the ship docked at the port, she would stay on the boat, and Commander Zhao would send spies to the village to make sure it was safe for her.

He would also bring back presents.

She'd politely accepts the atrocious gift of a doll dressed like a Princess or books on Princess and Princesses. They were _boring_, so when she got to her room, she would burn them and made sure to hide the evidence of the ash.

He did not ask about the gift, but Azula felt that the Commander knew _everything_. Specific comments that were made in the past about Azula such as: trying to firebend without the knowledge of the members of the ship or not wasting resources by throwing away food because it tasted horrible. It made her conscious of her actions, now going into the future that she would have to be careful.

She would need to gain the trust of the crew; they're required for the success of her plan. She would try and apply to different tactics that she had learned from her Father.

Azula tried to gain information from the cook, by being nice to him; she knew from experience that adults who are not nobles strangely preferred her brother over her. During the earliest months of travelling, Azula did not think much of the cook and others with menial tasks.

They were beneath her.

She approached the cooking station carefully, the cook body posture changed; it became stiff. He did not trust her.

"I would like a steamed bun." She asked. "Please." Azula tried smiling for good measure. The Cook nodded and handed her food to her and quickly turned his back on her.

She frowned, replicating similar methods to Zuko proved to be a failure. She walked away humiliated, Zuko would not struggle with this, he would have befriended the crew members and the other staff.

Many people preferred Zuko to her. Uncle Iroh had whisked Zuko away and Mother loved Zuko more than her.

Father did not.

He did not care for Zuko. He'd preferred Azula, for the first time someone preferred her to Zuko training her daily so she could reach her full potential.

Until he was murdered by the rebellion. Thinking about her Father made her depressed. She was now without a parental figure and had no family or home; she was a homeless orphan now.

_**Zuko**_

Azula and Father were dead. A rebellion had taken place, they said the nobles revolted against his Father and took control over Caldera.

Zuko was glad that he had Uncle, his hand was steady as he explained what was going back home.

He did not know how to feel.

Ozai his Father had burnt Zuko and has left a visible scar on his face that he is unable to get rid off and banished his only son for speaking out of turn to find the Avatar. His Father was not kind and yet he still wept for him.

Azula was his only sister, he wept for the ten-year-old who he would never get to see again. Uncle was hugging him now, rocking him back and forth whispering soft comforting words as if he was a baby. Zuko did not know what to say. He was now an orphan.

**A.N**

**Hi, all thank you for reading my new story a Dragons Journey. I hope you enjoy favourite, follow and review. **


	2. Chapter 2- Azula

Everyday Azula has been visiting the cook telling him meaningless things, things that she's had overheard in the past with Zuko telling people about his day. She had made fun of his weak behaviour, it had proven useful.

The cook was less cold to her. He offered her smiles when she needed to rant about the incompetence of the men on the ship, and sometimes he would laugh at her stories that she told.

Though he did tend to frown, when she told him about her pranks on the soldiers. The frowns tended to deepen when she told him about lighting some of the soldier's hairs on fire. The frowns reminded her of Mother and her frowns, so she stopped telling him those types of stories.

She had been thinking about her Mother more often now.

Ursa was now her last family member. This hurt. The only family that Azula had left hated her. Azula could not remember a time where Ursa was not by Zuko, always indulging and coddling him, protecting him from those who would do him – this included Azula.

It hurt to be constantly compared to Zuko. He was weak, yet their mother preferred Zuko to Azula. Her mother thought she was a monster. Azula had told her father, but he told her not to bother him with trivial matters.

Since then, Azula kept to herself only going to her parents when there were events for the nation or spending the evening with the previous Fire Lord, her grandfather. When she had not been training, she was with her friends.

Mai and Ty Lee were her companions, they had met at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls – they were the only ones that weren't grovelling for her attention. It was interesting. She took them on as her companions, inviting them to parties at the palace, introducing them to the Fire Lord and finally allowing them to play with her.

They had both been honoured to play with someone like her. They continued to be her companions throughout her young years and they were able to guide her through troubling times like when her mother had been banished. They had been the only things that were constant in her life.

Until now. Azula found herself missing Ty Lee and Mai, they had been good companions; Mai had been plain, her appearance had been plain and boring with her ox horns hairstyle. Her personality was worse. Ty Lee was the opposite, too cheerful and pretty.

They were a weird ensemble, but when together, Azula had the most fun. She remembered when younger, they had a sleepover; she had dared Mai too steal sweets from her mother. Mai and Ty Lee had been reluctant to carry on the act, until she had persuaded them with her fire. Mai had stolen the sweets and refused to eat them.

Azula had to eat the evidence, her stomach ached for the rest of the week. As punishment for their cowardice she did not invite them to spend time with her in the palace. It was a fitting punishment as Mai had started to develop an infatuation with Zuko. It was only small, but Azula had noticed. She did not understand why her friend would choose her weak brother, but she used this for her benefit.

Before her brother's banishment they had gotten closer, often moving away from Ty Lee and Azula to speak privately. Mai would always come back with rose coloured cheeks, her cheeks would often deepen in colour, going from rose coloured to bright red once they started interrogating her for information on their talks.

Mai would always tell them in the end. Azula would use the information to prank her brother. He had never found the humorous side of the prank and often went to spend time with Uncle.

She wondered what happened to her companions; had they left the nation in time before the rebellion took place? She imagined that they would hide away with their families, skipping town in order to not get caught. That they would stay loyal to the crown.

Azula had no way of knowing until she came back to the Fire Nation. Trying to ask about the state of her Nation was like trying to unseal your mouth shut, that had been glued together with hot coal. Impossible, members of the ship hardly told her anything. They would stop talking when she was near and carry on once she left.

It was infuriating. The only one who cared enough to tell the fire heir news was the cook and it was about historical events of the Fire Nation, before Sozin's comet and how the Fire Nation was in a time of peace. Azula would spend time listening him rattle on about something that she was not interested in, but it was the only thing on the ship that was keeping her from dying of boredom.

She would often spend her days listening to the cook as he prepared the food. Sometimes, the cook would give her a small treat. She would hide them in her cabin and eat it in the preference of her room hiding away from the soldiers. She did not want them to see her eating some luxurious item, it would cause conflict with some members of the ship.

She found herself starting to enjoy the cook's presence as he integrated into her new life of being educated in the past and listening to his stories. He reminded her of her uncle, before his son Lu Ten had died in battle. After her cousin's death, he became a husk of himself – becoming more of a tea drinking idiot. It was sad.

Having the cook remind her of the past was refreshing.

….

She was being shaken harshly, Azula struggled to get up. She was tired. She had spent her day exploring the ship with the consent of the cook. She tried to go back to sleep, but she was again shaken. This time rougher. She opened her eyes slightly, glaring at the person who dared awoken.

Her eyes were drawn to the bright flame, she reached her hand out to the flame it had been so long since she had felt one in her hands.

"Princess!" Interrupted, Azula glared at the cook. He looked somewhat apologetic but alert. "Get dressed now!" Alarmed, she followed orders. The cook swiftly turned around when she started undressing herself and hid away. She found her clothes that she had hidden from Zhao and his men – they were her clothes from the fire nation that she would wear daily.

He took her hand, his large hands dwarfing her small child hands. They were warm, he moved quickly. Moving room to room, never stopping. Only Stopping when he heard voices. Azula tried to ask questions, but he cut her off with a glare. Chastened she kept quiet and followed his lead.

He led her to the entrance of the ship. Placing his fingers on his mouth telling her to be even more quiet. She nodded. They found a boat prepared for them, then the cook lowered the boat down until they hit the water and he started to row.

He did not speak to her, until they got to a safe distance. "Zhao was going to betray you and hand you to the now current Fire Lord." Azula clenched her fists, she did not expect this to happen. She did not like Zhao, they both had a mutual dislike of one another, but she thought that he was going to be loyal to the Royal Family – the memories of her father should have kept him loyal.

"Zhao kept you in hiding in order to hide your existence from the rebellion, who would have used you." He carried on "I knew your uncle, I tried many times to get you off the ship, but it was impossible, until now."

"How do I know you're not going to betray me like Zhao?" She asked, he was a friend of Uncle's, but Zhao had been a friend of Father. He did not answer immediately; it made her worry. If she were to fight him, she may lose. She hadn't been bending in a long time. Her skills weren't up to where it should be.

"You don't." Azula clenched her hand, already preparing for the inevitable. She had no weapons and her firebending was rusty, but she could get a good hit on the cook. "You have trust me and the friendship that I had with your Uncle."

She rolled her eyes; how cliché, but she had no other alternative. She was stuck in the middle of the sea in the dark alone with the cook.

They continued their journey in silence, surrounded by the dark vastness of the sea. Azula started formatting plans whilst also keeping an eye on the cook. Making sure that he was doing the correct procedure in rowing.

The Fire Nation ship soon became a sparse figure in the distance. She wondered why they were not looking for them.

"I drugged their food. They will not come looking for you until it's too late, Princess." Startled, Azula glanced at the cook, who was red in the face and clearly not used to the strain of rowing. "Once we get to Land, I must leave you."

Azula must have looked shocked because the cook gave a comforting smile. She was being abandoned again by people she allowed in. The cook had been the only thng in her new life that was constant, treating her like a princess and not a child like the soldiers.

He reminded her of home.

She turned her face away from him; it was childish, and her father would reprimand her for her behaviour, but she did not want the cook to look at her face, to see the continuous hurt expression on her face.

They continued their journey in silence until they got to land. The cook moved first and got out of the ship, taking a bag that Azula had not noticed. He gave his hand to help her up. She pushed his hand aside; she would not touch him she could do it herself.

She climbed up to the port until she fell and was lying on a man-made bridge. Embarrassed, she quickly got up. She had scratches up her arm and she could feel a bruise coming up.

Even then, she did not ask for help. He was going to leave her to her own devices, therefore, she must learn how to live independently or she would not survive.

He handed her the bag, "I understand that you are smart and can read maps." She glared, offended. Her father had taught her when she was young, not allowing her to rest until she got it right. "Good. Stay away from the main roads where bandits lay."

She nodded, he continued. "If you see any Fire Nation soldiers, hide." She nodded, concerned she would be hiding away from her people. Zhao had told her that people wanted the Fire Nation Royalty back, that they praised the name of Sozin and his descendants.

Now she did not know if her countrymen saw and found out who she was that they may kill her. She hurt at the thought. Azula looked at the bag that was left lying on the floor.

"There is enough food and water to last you three days. Afterwards, you must find other means to feed yourself."

Azula had never hunted for anything in her life; beforehand, the palace cooks had made her meals everyday and even on the ship, even though the food was less than satisfactory, she had been blessed with a cook.

"Another thing Princess, you must come here to my side now." Warily, Azula walked towards the cook, keeping a steady pace until she was close. She saw he had a knife in his hand. Her father had instilled a lesson in her; if an enemy provided her with an opportunity, try and burn him. The cook caught on and grabbed her forearm, holding it tightly, and Azula was sure that she was going to have another bruise.

Azula tried to struggle, but the cook held steadily; she could not move.

The knife moved closer, Azula could see the glinting, rusty metal. He was going to kill her with a kitchen knife, it was bizarre. Though strange, Azula welcomed the sight; she would be joining her family soon. The knife moved slowly, directed to her face. Azula closed her eyes, expecting it to be quick.

She felt the knife move past her face and onto her hair. He was cutting her hair. Azula quickly opened her eyes. The cook was mumbling under his breath.

He was touching her hair, attacking each strand until she could feel her hair short just above her ears. She saw thick strands of hair falling to the ground. Upset, Azula turned to glare at the cook. He firmly moved her head back into position in order to continue his work.

Her hair had been her only reminder of her mother, when they had good times. Having it cut felt like she was betraying her mother.

It hurt. Once the job was finished, she would not look like Azula, daughter of Ursa and Ozai and Princess of the Fire Nation. Now she'll look like a peasant.

Azula kept quiet though; even though she had not wanted this, she understood that the cook was protecting her. He was hiding away her identity. The cook took time, but in the end he finished.

He showed Azula her image with the rusted knife. Her hair looked awful, all jagged and short. She looked like a peasant boy. The cook then instructed her to change out of her clothes and soon provided her with dirty peasant clothing. She smelt it and it stunk of body odour. She gave a look and asked if the cook had anything that was more pleasant, something preferably in red and some pants as well.

The cook glared. Defeated, Azula tried on the peasant clothing. It was boring, a dress dyed the colour green, the texture rough, it made her skin scratchy. She looked like an Earth peasant.

"You must travel to the North-Western Earth Kingdom. From there you will meet your guide." Azula tried to interrupt, but he ignored her. "He is expecting you and will show you to safety."

Though excited to travel these unknown roads and a little annoyed that she was dressed like a peasant, she was saddened to leave the cook behind; he had been a steady companion on the ship.

She tried to smile, but she must have done it wrong because the cook still looked disinterred with their farewell.

"Don't get me wrong Princess, I'm doing this for the benefit of your uncle and your uncle only. He was kind to me and my children." Of course, he did it for her uncle, people help her because of her members of her family.

Zuko would have no problems dealing with the cook, she thought bitterly. She recoiled; she did not speak ill of the dead but when alive he would have been able to make friends with all lowly members of staff.

Azula had tried to act like Zuko, but maybe it did not come across that way.

The cook was staring at her as if he was contemplating a task. Azula could see the gears moving like one of the warships that she had seen when she was young with her father. His eyes hardened and left her without a goodbye.

Azula turned to the bag on the ground. She checked her rations and started her journey.

**A.N**:

Hi guys, finished chapter two now. I'm excited to write the third chapter, next time we will see how's zuko and iroh are coping. check out my tumblr adella muriel

Beta readers: captain azoren and novabird


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